Why Start A Food Blog? And Can You Make Money Out Of It? Part II

Why Start A Food Blog? And Can You Make Money Out Of It?

by Azélia on 08/01/2012

in Family Life,How To Make,Ingredient List,Most Popular

This post is following on from Part I here.

Blog Envy & The Godivala Syndrome

If you want to start one, do it, it’s free, make it your own but be prepared to put the hours in if you want it to have a certain regularity, it really does not feed itself.

I’ve had moments where I thought, why do I bother?  You look around and there are these amazing food blogs, so accomplished looking, I can never compete with that!  However many times you say, I’m just doing this for my own personal satisfaction, on occasions you find yourself comparing to others in the beginning.  To compare it’s human nature I think.

In my household the Godivala Syndrome is very useful to use when bashing the kids over the head telling them they should push themselves to doing something in life they’re passionate about.  Adulthood is too long to be doing a job they hate.  Don’t make my mistakes, I say, and fall into the Godivala Syndrome. 

What’s the Godivala Syndrome?  

When I was in my last years at school I shined at Art.  Amongst my friends and peers art was my subject, apart from English I sucked at everything else.  There was a girl in my class, one of those super dupper students who achieved A+ in all subjects, that’s fine I would say to self, I don’t have to be concerned with the nerdy types…I’m artistic you see…that was my mantra.  This girl Godivala (her surname btw) a pretty girl, also Aced in art.

She wasn’t just good at Art as in technically good, like a friend of mine who was good but lacked style…oh no…Godivala had her own beautiful style that made Art teachers swoon over her work, you could see little tears of joy in their eyes when looking at her artistic visions.  My heart would sink because I wished I could create that kind of reaction from people.

I was good and had my own style but looking back I can see it needed more time to develop.  I made a subconscious decision somewhere along the way;  If I couldn’t be as good as Godivala at the subject I was supposedly good at I might as well give up.

And so my life is full of Should’ve…should’ve pursued it…should’ve gone to art college..should’ve found job in something I loved.  Instead I spent 20 years at office desks being a passer-on of paperwork.  And this is the lesson I teach my kids.  Worrying too much about others can debilitate you.

Your Style

As the food blogging world becomes saturated what I see standing out in this land of plenty is personality or  niche or lifestyle or knowledge of a particular field.

I read people advising bloggers to find your voice, which is true but also annoying as the term is very vague and how do you apply that to food blogs?

My suggestion would be to start with what gets you excited in the subject, it may take a while to discover as it did with me.  When sitting down 52 weeks a year staring at my computer and the enthusiasm is wanning late at night, it’s my searching for the whys?  in something which pushes me to the finish line and another post is completed.

Can You Make Money Out Of It?

You can’t make a living out of a food blog directly as things are.  If you want to move into this area however, your food blog will be a showcase, a curriculum vitae.  It’s a great way to communicate with others by saying this is what I’m good at.

The blog will be a platform to expose you to other things, things you don’t know, people, places, experiences.  It enable me to move into bread and become knowledgeable in that field.  Two years ago I had no idea I could become a baker and through this blog that’s what happened.

It’s also a great shortcut for those you meet to know your experience.  I’ll give you an example, last year when I went to work with Paul Merry, it was easy for him to look through my blog and know my level.  When I met Dan too and asked his opinion of what to look for in a baker when the time came for me to have my own bakery, Dan having looked through my work said, “You should be the baker and hire a helper, not the other way around”.

Cash For Your Blog

If you’re trying to start a career or business having a blog is a perfect way to begin with twitter and facebook, but it won’t give you a living wage.  Yes, you can get paid to write about a product, I’ve known bloggers being offered £250 for a piece.

Ok so let’s do the math.  Say you want to bring in £1,000 a month (this is gross obviously, to which you deduct your taxes/NI) and let’s say you are being offered £250 to write a piece on a product.  You have to write 4 paid articles a month, roughly one a week.

Will your readers stomach a post every week reviewing a related food/drink product?  That’s the question.  Not to mention, can you get that amount of businesses a year to keep receiving that income?

To clarify, a freebie doesn’t mean you’ll get paid to write bout it, it means someone sent you a product for free to be reviewed.  I’ve seen the term sponsored post applied when relating to a paid reviewed.

I did a review for Hotel Chocolat some time ago for the Christmas range and was told I could charge them my usual rate to write the review…urmmm…I didn’t have a usual rate, this was all new to me.  At the time I thought maybe I can get away with £100+ but I never charged them for it, I couldn’t bring myself to, felt guilty enough receiving free chocolate.  Stupid really.  Where’s the law stating I can’t get paid to do some work?

This is where maybe things will change in the future, blogging will grow-up into a professional format, and paid full-time food bloggers will become common.

Why shouldn’t it be a profession as food writing for a magazine or newspaper is?  The question becomes about ethics I think, can you be trusted to write an honest opinion of a product while receiving their money?

Everything is muddy right now, newspapers and magazines have constraints too.  I read editors complaining, having lack of freedom to carry out their job as they saw fit.  I wonder how things will be in the next 10 years?

Ads, Freebies, Give-Aways, Competitions

At the moment there seems to be a divide between those who think blogging should be free from any sort of commercialisation, and those who don’t see why the two can’t go hand in hand.

Personally I hate blogs plastered from top to bottom with numerous ads, making it hard to find the content or categories.  This is in part because I suffer from “tidy blog” syndrome.  I want to navigate my way around easily.  If I bump into a blog and can’t see the work from the chaos of the design or ads then I click off.  If I do this then I’m sure others do it too.

I don’t have a problem with small ads not disturbing my enjoyment of the blog.  An example of two blogs which have ads in a neat tidy way are Smitten Kitchen and 101 Cookbooks.  

I’m asked to review stuff as many bloggers are, but unless I would actually pay for the product myself as with the Hotel Chocolat I find reviewing boring.  Writing about something I have no personal interest in would be very difficult.

Ultimately whether you review, do give-aways, sponsored post or put ads on your blog will be something personal.  How your readers will take it, to some extent, will be how it’s handled.

I’ve read non-bloggers begrudging and being malicious (usually on forums) of bloggers who appear to be having a jolly life through freebies or events they’re enjoying.  This is where the democratic set up of the web works, anyone with access to a computer has equal opportunities to blog.  Producing a good blog is so time consuming that if there isn’t genuine interest in the subject it will soon show across the screen and I think the blogger will start to feel the ‘treadmill’ effect.

 

Cost Of Setting Up My Blog

So far I’ve stayed away from having an ad since the tiny amount gained didn’t seem worth it, but this year I will put one up in order to pay for the hosting of the blog.

I’ve paid out to set up this blog because I’m a terrible techy-know-how person, I’m fine once you show me how.  Husband went on a wordpress course initially to set up the blog which set us back £1,000, and last year I made alterations and paid someone to do it.  Together with the cost of hosting (think it’s about £60 a year) I’ve spent £1,500 on the site.

I’m still not happy with it, that’s mainly because the blog grows and things need to change.  I’ve also been meaning to change the banner for a year and haven’t organised myself to do it.  I’ve never been happy with the whole look but will eventually resolve it.  I find the limits of website formats frustrating, it’s the painter in me coming out.

From my figures as you can see I’m running at a loss with this blog, but made choices like going with wordpress and not having the know-how.

A very plastered blog with ads may bring in a couple hundred pounds a year, but not worth the amount of readers you annoy and turn off.  Sponsored posts or freebie reviews will again bring you a little hard cash but based on what I’ve seen it’s more petty cash than living wage.

There Is Such a Thing As a Free Lunch

You might be asked to review a restaurant and receive a free meal.  In my circumstances I have to pay for baby-sitting, £6 per hour, by the time the evening is over I’m out of pocket by £30. Unless the meal is financially worthy, with the travel costs added, what’s the point?

I went once to review a dim sum small chain restaurant, I think husband and I had cabin fever and used it as excuse to get out (sad I know).  On the way home I worked out the babysitting and travel came to £46 and the meal we ate would’ve cost £35..had we stayed at home we would’ve saved money. With this exception, I’ve paid for all my restaurant reviews.

I’ve heard of some bloggers who will contact the restaurant in advance to tell them they’re coming, hoping they will be offered a free meal.  I’ve also heard of bloggers who like to throw their weight around and on arrival demanding a better table because they’re a blogger reviewing the restaurant.  This kind of stuff makes me cringe, I guess I wasn’t brought up like that.  There are restauranteurs who embrace bloggers and others hate them like vermin.

The professional restaurant reviewer AA Gill doesn’t have anything good to say about bloggers from what I’ve heard.  I dislike his style of writing as it smacks of loving one self a little too much but as far as his tastes goes I agreed with him last year on 2 restaurants that failed to make the grade for me but had been held by bloggers as great eats, Gilbert Scott & Hawksmoor.

Restaurant reviewers, be they professionals or bloggers, have to suit your taste, like film critics.  My problem with some bloggers reviewing restaurants is they do the photos, tell you what the dish is and whether they like it or not but fail to say why?  Why didn’t the dish work, or why was it good?  The photograph may be pretty but it’s meaningless on eating.

Bloggers in a restaurant are a nuisance if they disturb other diners while getting the right shot.  Alinea’s chef, Grant Achatz had a good case when he complained of bloggers being over the top when taking tripods or getting in the way of serving a meal.  We all have a right to an uninterrupted restaurant experience.

The Book Deal

Hey…but aren’t you forgetting the all important book deal?  

They all have them you know…build a large following, bring a book out. Ta Da!  You’ve hit the jackpot.  I think this is the impression from the outside.  If you look into the details of bringing out a book then the figures are depressing.

I only had to google What Do Author’s Make From Their Books and found information confirming what I’ve heard.  If you’re not a well known Jamie, Nigella, Delia, then the author’s percentage is around 10-12% of the book cover price, but as a person on that link details, all sorts of distortions of this deal can be made, not to the benefit of the author I might add.  Not exactly retiring money is it?  Selling 100,000 books and receiving £10,000 in return.

One blogger, Vanessa, who I met back in September at Dan’s workshop started a blog, Goddess On A Budget  because she wanted to bring out a cook book in a year, which she did!  The power of new media and lots of determination.

Added Value – Conferences, Workshops, Writing

The oldies of the food blogger world are invited to appear at food blog conferences or workshops to tell others how to build a successful food blog.  I’ve never been to one and can’t comment whether people find them useful or not.  Even if you have your cynical hat on about these things and I’m one of those I guess you can still take the opportunity of interacting with other bloggers and make new friends.

Some bloggers have received commissions for photography or writing, and this is where opportunities arise because of your blog, things you can’t possibly envisage at the beginning.

Starting a blog is like being pregnant you have all these ideas in your head but you can’t foresee the reality of it until the baby has arrived and develops into its own character.

The Running Costs

I’ve mentioned the set up and updating costs for my blog but don’t forget the cost of ingredients I buy for some of the posts.  I’m the sort of person who rather buy a pot of fancy sea salt than a lipstick or earrings.  Sometimes I’ll blog items I was going to make anyway but a lot of the time ingredients are bought for posts.  I don’t keep a separate list but it’s certainly a cost I’m aware of.

I inherited husband’s basic Nikon SLR but then had to buy a special low light lens to cope with English winter light, that was £200.   Husband also bought me a cheap light kit which I never use because it’s not very good, £100.  As a Christmas present in 2010 he bought me a photography day’s course on How To Use Your Camera, very useful, I’m the sort of person who use to sellotape the flash down, I didn’t know how to switch it off.

You don’t need a SLR but they’re a blessing because with good light they do a great job on your behalf.  A good camera phone can do wonders and in dim light this time of year or at night time I find myself using the iphone.

Don’t forget to add any costs for props, especially if you do lots of pretty cakes and want to set it up.  Before blogging I had already amassed a fair amount of little dishes and other stuff.  Nowadays I don’t usually have time to set up a photo, but if you do take that into account.  You’ll start eyeing up family and friends’ crockery and linen as potential props…you may not be invited back after a while.

In the middle of writing this post a blogger friend in the States, Naomi, author of  Bakers Royale  wrote a post on how much money and time she spends producing her work, read the post here.  Yes you see it right, she sleeps 4.5 hrs a night.  If you look through her blog and see her pretty bakes that doesn’t come in cheap.

You don’t have to go down Naomi’s approach of setting up different shots, there’s little tricks to help add colour to background of your photos.  I buy paper, handmade texture paper like in the photo below, and very top photo with the quinces.  Use a granite/stone/wood slab to place your food on.  Doing close up shots disposes of any need for props.

Stealing Your Work 

And after you spent money, and devoted hundreds of hours to it…well…prepare yourself for some bastard somewhere to steal your work.

I would like to say that’s the internet for you, but unfortunately it happens all over the place.  I discovered last year a national tv broadcaster was using a recipe in one of its programmes which most of us looking at it would believe its origins were produced by a different author.

I’ve read of a blogger who discovered a magazine had stolen her writing, when she contact them for compensation she was told she should be the one paying the magazine since they had to edit her work.  Don’t you just love that.

Sites, magazines, other bloggers will take your work and I don’t know there is much you can do to stop that.  If you want to ensure no one steals original recipes of yours don’t put them on the blog, you can at least collect them and produce an e-book at a later date.

Why Do the Pros Blog ?

Two professionals I admire greatly have a blog, one a chef Linda who runs  Playing With Fire & Water  and the other is a baker and pastry chef Gregoire who blogs through Gregoire Michaud.  I asked them why they blog, afterall they appear to be in the profession they love, what does blogging give them?

Linda:  “I blog as a creative outlet and for the freedom of expression.  On a daily basis, I prepare a wide variety of foods for the restaurant and my clients – everything from simple family meals to sophisticated, multi course dinners.  I am allowed creativity only within the parameters of their tastes and budgets.  The food I prepare for the blog has no parameters, I am free to explore whatever interests me.  It pushes and challenges me and, in a way, it’s like my fantasy restaurant.”

Gregoire:  “There wasn’t enough space in 4 books to share my experience!  When I started writing books, it burst the “chef’s protective bubble”.  Where we, chefs, tend to hide and keep our recipes and tricks secret, with books, I had no choice but to reveal it all.  And I loved the fact of not only giving pleasure with food but also with sharing my knowledge.  I liked it so much that I started blogging. It offers a much more interactive platform to share and discuss with people, which I love!”

Carving A Niche

As I’ve said in Part I, a blog is what you make it and certainly doesn’t have to be used for any commercial purposes.  I’ll give a small example of mixed blogs I have come to know who blog for different reasons:

Joanna has one of the best community bread blogs I know called  Zeb Bakes.  Her experience in different types of bread is extensive, she’s built herself a large happy community around her blog, you only need to spend a short while on there to see how.  She’s incredibly generous with her sharing and her time helping anyone stuck with their baking.  Her blog is an encyclopedia of bread.  On a personal note I’ll always be grateful for her support in my hour of need towards the end of last year, my little star.

Luc is an all rounder, his blog called  Roast Chicken and Red Wine, is a mixture of recipes of hog roast to handmade ravioli to his supperclub and sourdoughs to order.  I started following him on twitter around the time he began blogging and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching him grow, there doesn’t seem to be anything he can’t put his culinary hands to.  He didn’t know where the blog would take him, started for recording recipes but it’s giving him all sorts of experiences.

Louise, a good baker, is someone who’s blog  Use Mainly Spoons I enjoy reading, I like the way she puts her thought process across.  She hasn’t always blogged regularly but it seems this year I will be see more of her work.  She blogs to share recipes and for her love of writing.  I loved her write up of Ferran Adria evening and his new book, you can read it here.

Gloria’s blog, The Laundry  is a little treasure trove of preserved goods as well all sorts of bakes, she runs a business selling home items here, and writes for the Guardian Allotment Blog.  I’ve written about Gloria preserving book on my blog here, where I profess she’s my Queen of style.

Carl is an excellent example of lifestyle blogging in the true sense of the word, meaning he’s not selling you the Nigella’s mock-up lifestyle, he’s giving you the real deal.  He up-rooted city life years ago and tries to live off the land in North Wales sharing it through his blog, Carl Legge.  He’s the person to turn to for your apple vinegar, how to slaughter a pig or what to do with your sprouting cabbage.  If he doesn’t know he’ll find out.  Through his blog he has embarked on a writing career as well as being asked to do speeches and workshops.

This is a small example of people I know who started blogs, use them for various reasons and have their own individual style.

Warm Glow From Your Blog

The other plus of having a blog is when helping people struggling with cooking problems.  I had been trying to help Julia to produce a loaf she was happy with and then after a period of absence from her one morning I woke up to this comment:

Hi Azelia

I just wanted to let you know that yesterday I produced a rip roaring success of a loaf!! YAY!

Great slash, terrific oven spring, great mouth feel, fantastic holes and crumb, wow of a crust – an all round, damn fine feel good loaf! I’m still doing the 2gms of yeast as “insurance” but getting a great consistently great loaf. I haven’t bought bread in over a month and there’s been NO complaints at home, but the poor old chooks haven’t had any “failures” to devour for a couple of weeks now! So Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your input, you’ve been “with” me from day one (I made the starter from your blog) and you and your writing are an inspiration. Happy days to you and all you love Julia”

The other subject I feel strongly about is food allergies because my second daughter suffers from multi-food allergies from birth. I and oldest daughter suffer from dairy-intolerance as it runs in my family. This means I’m never too far away from thinking how to turn a recipe accessible for allergy/intolerant sufferers. This blog is a good opportunity to share that and nothing makes my eyes teary than reading this type of comment:

“Thank you! Thank You and Thank you once again! i finally fed my kid chicken nuggets (he cries every time he sees a kid eating them and he can’t because of his egg allergy!) These are not just good, these are actually better than the real thing! Nawara

 

Final Word

I hope I’ve given a good insight into the world of blogging from my understanding and experience of it.  I couldn’t have shared so much devoting extensive time to it without the support and encouragement from my husband.   I’ve made some truly wonderful friends through having a blog, people I wouldn’t otherwise have met.  

 


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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

Joanna January 8, 2012 at 10:54 am

Apart from saying thanks for such a lovely mention, as all well brought up bloggers do !  Ijust want to say that I always enjoy sharing in your thought processes, I may not always agree but I love your open and clear voice. The Godiva syndrome, (first off I thought you wrote your blog naked and everyone looked the other way, hee hee) is a seriously good point to bring up. I experienced it last year when I thought I would have a go at making macarons, had one go, looked at all the perfect blog pictures and thought this will take me all year to make anything that looks like those. I love the bread because you can get better at it quite quickly if you read and learn and ask the right questions and it doesn’t require straight lines and perfect circles. I see learning to bake bread as a metaphor for going through life I guess. Anyway enough pretend blogging philosophy from me. I would love to discuss many of the things you raise here, but my comment would end up longer than your blog post!  May your blog continue to shine out xx Joanna

Misk Cooks January 8, 2012 at 11:13 am

All of the time and effort that you’ve put into this two part article will surely be worth it to many people looking for this type of info. A really well written piece of work, Az.

Azélia January 8, 2012 at 12:06 pm

Thanks Joanna & Misk.

Joanna I don’t know if you have read Braveheart’s, Macarons Are For Eating post but it’s worth a read http://bravetart.com/blog/EatMacarons

Louise January 8, 2012 at 2:28 pm

Thanks for the mention, Azélia! Another great post. A friend I took the Leith’s food writing course with is considering starting a blog, and I will definitely be pointing her at this post and the previous one.
Your description of ‘Godivala’ syndrome is so accurate – true not just of blogging,but of writing in general. If you think about it, almost every subject in the world has already been written about. But we read to listen to the writer, not just for the content. We can read about the same recipe a hundred times, because each cook and writer may have something new to share.
I have learnt a huge amount from your blog, and look forward to all the new posts coming this year!

Gregoire January 8, 2012 at 2:45 pm

Great post! Love all the different aspect you bring in.
It made me realize that blogging about food as a porfessional is much “easier” than from home, i.e.: we get all these amazing ingredients in our kitchens everyday “for free” and we get to play with it as much as we want in the name of new menu development.
Even better, with web design being my home hobby! Speaking fluent PHP/SQL, HTML and photoshop made my blog much cheaper! ;)

Anyway… like Dan said, I think you should be a chef! Others did it, and so can you! :) xx

Azélia January 8, 2012 at 2:51 pm

Agree Louise, people love to read and a story can be told in many different ways, different styles. Likewise, looking forward to reading more posts of yours.

Azélia January 8, 2012 at 2:53 pm

So you can speak more than one language fluently Gregoire, create masterpieces in pastry & bread and now you’re telling me you’re techy too! Just as well I didn’t go to school with you too! ;)

The Liquineer January 8, 2012 at 4:16 pm

Azelia, what an interesting article-I have an occasional blog that I do, but it is a bit of a mixture of things that interest me, more than a food blog- I spent the last 17 years until retirement creating alcoholic drinks, which still interests me, but a lot of the information can’t be used as it is proprietary to the company I worked for, so I can only use information that is in the public domain, but I can experiment myself and publish that, so your post has encoured me to pursue that further.
Thanks

Martin

Azélia January 8, 2012 at 4:42 pm

Pleased it has encourage you Martin, it’s a good journey to take.

chris January 9, 2012 at 10:51 am

Azelia, you did it again. As I have said before I am not a great reader of blogs but I switch on the computer this morning (as you do) to just check emails etc. before reading my newspaper over breakfast. Have just spent a really interesting half hour reading your blog and clicking through on a few of the links. Breakfast is finished, the newspaper unopened and the day begins, me I am smiling – you have done that with your straightforward information packed post in a ‘friendly chat’ rather than a ‘user manual’ manner. Thank you, I will have to read the paper at lunch time, unless you post something else that is !!!!!

Azélia January 9, 2012 at 1:15 pm

Sometimes Chris reading newspapers can leave you on a depressing note…much better starting the day off with a blog ;-)

Marlène January 10, 2012 at 10:03 am

Olá Azélia,
Deixo umas palavrinhas em português.
Identifiquei-me especialmente com a parte em que contas os 20 anos que passaste a fazer algo que realmente não gostavas (eu estive apenas 6). Afinal, a vida é demasiado curta para sofrer, certo?

Não vou comentar nada do post, apenas quero dizer-te que deves continuar com o teu excelente blog, tal e qual. Afinal, foi este blog que me fez chegar até ti, que me permitiu conhecer-te um bocadinho e estabelecermos contato.
Obrigada Azélia!

Azélia January 10, 2012 at 2:28 pm

Prazer te conhecer Marlène x

Nicola January 16, 2012 at 12:14 pm

I really enjoyed this pair of posts. And your writing is lovely – I’m glad you’ve taken the time to work on it. My background is in science – not one arts or humanities A-level – so I really struggle with evocative or emotive writing. Don’t think I was bad at these subjects at school, but comparatively far far worse.

Your mention of Godivala syndrome and the person walking alone was so touching – brought a tear to my eye. It’s so true – and much easier to realise as an adult than a child.

It’s only after a 10 day gap between posts on my nascent blog, that I’ve started to realise how time-consuming it is to keep up with a blog. It’s tough. I’m very grateful to authors who are able to update regularly, for my – and others’ – enjoyment. Thank you!

Azélia January 16, 2012 at 12:26 pm

Thanks Nicola – now I know why you were so keen on getting baking textbooks!

I did choose to put that snow pic in the Godivala section as I thought it conjured up imaged of “one’s struggle”…very impressed you noticed! You see you’re artistic as well as scientific minded…should hate you really! Godivala no.2 LOL!

I fell for you blog straight away, keep going but don’t let it stress you out, no one is going to be giving you an A- for not doing it regularly…we’ll still be here waiting for when you have time. ;)

Shruti January 22, 2012 at 7:01 pm

Wow did you just put my mind out into your words. I started a blog last year and every night I wonder what I am doing it for. I am yet to find my strong point and my justification to doing it. Yes I am running it on loss if I look at the investment and the gains. But then like evrybody it is my escape from writing lines of code everyday, I am a software developer by profession. Nice read.

Sylvie (A Pot of Tea) January 28, 2012 at 8:34 pm

What a great two-part post, great thoughts and observations. I’m glad I came across your blog and am pretty sure I’ll enjoy following it (and I won’t expect any back-slapping!)

kellypea February 28, 2012 at 9:11 pm

I enjoyed this segment as much as the last — tons of information and honest opinions. I do run ads on my site even though I don’t like the way they look because as I’ve told my husband, I guess we’re just wired to want to be paid for our hard work. Sadly, my ads have never really paid that much, but ultimately, that’s my fault. I treat it like a hobby even though it feels like a job. You’ve accomplished an amazing amount of work in the two years you’ve had your blog. It really is impressive!

Azélia March 2, 2012 at 11:24 am

hi Kelly – glad you enjoyed reading it and thank you.

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